Football Attrition

Well, you knew it was going to happen, new coach and all. We got some players moving on.

Nelson Hurst has decided to transfer. Not a big deal. He was a decent tight end, played significant minutes as a true freshman last year but he only had two catches. Now that was partly because Croom was a buffoon and didn't know how to utilize a tight end in an offense. Still, I can't get worked up about losing a guy who caught two passes. On top of that the tight end isn't all that important in Mullen's offense. He'll use them some, but we have others on the roster that can do what Hurst would have done. Good luck to ya Hurst, sorry you had to suffer under Croom for a year.

Montario Patterson is also moving on. He came in as a RB and redshirted last year. I think he was playing safety in the spring and was running third string. You'd like to keep him but this is probably a non factor. It was very early on in his career so who knows how he would have developed but at this point there was probably a 50/50 chance he never played a significant role. Returning safeties are a bit thin but there are several freshman coming in so it should be fine for the future and Patterson wouldn't have helped this year anyway. Again good luck to you Patterson, sorry you had to play for Croom.

JP Alford isn't transferring but has quit the team. Mullen has given him the summer to think it over and has left the door open for him to return if he so chooses. Alford was a Fr. OL that redshirted last year as he was still recovering from knee injuries suffered in high school. Supposedly he was still in the process of recovering and this was a large factor in him quitting. Can't say I blame him, he just had really bad luck in the injury department. It is obviously way too early in his career, especially given that he was an OL to predict how he would have turned out. I do know that he wouldn't have been a factor this year, probably not even in the 2 deep. So in that sense, like Hurst and Patterson, this loss doesn't matter. As for a couple years down the road, by that time you have recruited and developed other OL so yeah. Good luck to ya Alford. Sorry you had to play for Croom and sorry you had such bad luck with injuries.

Anthony Johnson has decided to transfer. Unfortunately I can't tell you that this is another loss that doesn't matter. It does. Johnson would have been starting this year and will now likely be replaced by Damien Anderson. No offense to you Anderson, but that is a downgrade. Depth is also pretty thin for next year and CB is now the one and only glaring weakness on the defense and is probably the 2nd glaring weakness on the team after QB or WR. I know he hadn't played in a year but he was still the most talented CB on the roster. Thats the way it goes though. Someone else is going to have to step up now. Good luck to you Johnson. Sorry you had to put up with Croom, but thank you for being being a major contributor to getting to a bowl game and along with the rest of the defense carrying this team on your back in spite of Croom's ineptness. And thank you for one of the most memorable plays in recent MSU history.